


The Final Farewell

by DroopyHamster



Category: The Haunting of Braidwood Manor (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 07:27:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18116105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DroopyHamster/pseuds/DroopyHamster
Summary: Braidwood Manor has finally been freed from it's dark secret, but now comes the hard part: saying goodbye





	The Final Farewell

I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible. -John Steinbeck

The door to the parlor burst open, spraying the splintering wood across the room as the figure of Rose Waverley loomed menacingly in the door frame. Her eyes fell on her younger children, a grotesque grin spreading across her charred face.

“My darlings!” She crossed the room at an alarming rate, arms outstretched as she reached out for Simon.

“No!” Eleanor screamed from across the room. She moved to protect her brother, but Paige reached him first, pushing Simon behind her just as Rose’s fingers grazed him.

An angry, demonic screech escaped Rose as she gripped Paige’s throat in a vice-like grip. “I tire of your meddling!”

Paige cried out in pain as her skin blistered beneath the fiery touch. “If you’re trying to choke me out,” she said through gritted teeth “you’re doing it all wrong.”

Rose sneered, backhanding Paige with her other hand before tossing her aside with frightening strength.

Eleanor rushed to Paige’s side, kneeling down next to her and cradling her head in her arms.

“You have to tell them,” Paige said weakly. “It’s the only way they’ll ever be safe from her.”

Eleanor bit her lip, her eyes betraying her internal struggle. Several tense moments passed, until finally a look of resolve came over her face. She stood tall, facing her mother as she reached behind, loosening the black band of fabric covering her neck.

“No!” Rose shrieked angrily.

The fabric fell away, revealing the dark secret it had been hiding. The gaping wound adorning Eleanor’s throat stretched from one side to the other in a grisly smile that had long ago sealed her fate.

“Eleanor!” Clarissa gasped, her eyes widening in horror. “What…what happened to you?”

Eleanor raised a shaky hand, pointing an accusing finger at her mother. “She did this. Our so called mother.”

“Silence, you little-” Rose began.

Eleanor continued, her voice ringing out confidently over her mother’s. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you like this, but I have withheld the truth from you for far too long. She…she murdered us. All of us. She poisoned the three of you, and when I found out she did this.”

The younger Waverley children stared st her with s mixture of shock and horror, trying to process what Eleanor had just said.

“So,” Clarissa began, “so, that means we’re…”

“Dead.” Thomas said in a soft voice.

An ear splitting howl filled the room as Rose Waverlery’s body erupted into a ball of flame, radiating an intense heat. She fell to the ground writhing in pain as Eleanor fixed her with a heated stare.

“You stole everything from us, Mother. You took our lives, all because you were so afraid of everything!”

Rose’s body began crumbling to ash before their eyes, her shrieks filling the room around them. Clarissa turned away from the sight, her sobs barely heard above the wailing. Paige wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Clarissa clung to her her tightly, burying her face into Paige’s shoulder.

“All I ever did, I did to protect you! I would have lost you anyway, the same way I lost your father!”

Eleanor let out a dark laugh that held no trace of humor. “You didn’t lose him, you fool! He survived the war. He was the one who found us!”

Rose’s continuous shrieks finally halted, her movements slowing as she processed what she had just heard.

“You…you lie!”

“Father never recovered from what you did to us. Ultimately, it was you that killed him, Mother.”

Rose stopped fighting; the flames around her extinguishing as she finally accepted her fate.

“William…” she croaked out. “Forgive me…”

“Father is gone, he is free of you.” Eleanor said, her voice dripping with hatred. “And where you are going you will never see him again.”

The remains of Rose Waverley shattered to dust, finally leaving the place she had turned into a prison. A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by Clarissa’s occasional sobs. Eleanor reattached the black fabric with a shaking hand. Her siblings rushed to her side, wrapping their arms around her in a fierce hug.

Her eyes settled on Paige, her eyes staring at her with affection and more than a little concern.

“Are you okay?” She asked gently.

Eleanor took a deep breath, nodding her head slightly. “Yes, I…I think so. Are you?”

“I think so.”

Eleanor smiled sadly as she untangled herself from her siblings. “I’ll be right back, darlings. I must speak with Paige privately for a moment.”

A knowing smile flashed across Clarissa’s face. “Take your time.”

Eleanor led Paige out of the room, a palpable silence hanging between them as they stood in the foyer.

Eleanor took a deep breath before finally speaking. “Paige, I must thank you for everything that you’ve done for us.”

Paige looked at her in surprise. “You’re not mad at me for stealing your key while you were sleeping?”

Eleanor smiled sadly. “I was wondering how you did that. Part of me wants to be, but I can’t bring myself to be angry with you. Nor can I regret what happened between us. Although I suppose I am a little worried that your feelings weren’t genuine.”

“Eleanor, my feelings were…they are genuine. It tore me up to do things the way that I did, but I only did it because I wanted to help you. As for what happened between us, that was real. I would never use you like that. I really, truly, care for you.”

Eleanor reached out, gently running her finger over Paige’s lips, careful not to disturb the large gash in her bottom lip. Her eyes caught sight of the burns running up Paige’s neck, thinking back to how she had stood between her mother’s deformed figure and her siblings.

She placed a gentle kiss on Paige’s lips, resting her forehead on hers. “I may not approve of your methods,” she said softly, “but I believe you. And I care for you too, more than I can say.”

They stood in the foyer, silently holding each other for several moments. The manor was eerily quiet for the first time in countless years. The secrets once holding the manor captive had been exposed, finally setting the manor and its inhabitants free.

Eleanor sighed sadly, reluctantly untangling herself from Paige’s embrace. “I suppose I must return and face the children. Somehow that prospect frightens me more than dealing with my mother.”

Paige gave her a reassuring smile. “It’ll be alright. It’s not like Thomas’s mood can get any fouler.”

Eleanor smiled in spite of herself, taking Paige’s hand and leading her back to the parlor.

The younger Waverley children stood around the room, looking expectantly at Eleanor as she entered. She smiled sadly at them, her eyes betraying her worry despite her outwardly calm demeanor.

“I owe all of you an apology. I should have told you ages ago, but I just…I just couldn’t bear to burden you with this. I just wanted to spare you.”

Simon approached Eleanor cautiously, his innocent mind trying to process all that had taken place. “Am I…are we…ghosts?”

Eleanor smiled sadly, pulling him into a gentle hug. “Yes, Simon. I’m so sorry, but that’s the truth.” She looked to Clarissa and Thomas, her eyes misting as the dam of guilt within her finally broke. “I know how angry with me you must be.”

Clarissa and Thomas crossed the room, wrapping their brother and sister in a hug.

“We understand Eleanor. If I had been in your place…”

“I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you.” Thomas said, his voice softer than normal.

Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears of relief as she held her siblings to her. Quiet sobs and sniffles filled the room as the children held each other, each lost in their own thoughts and emotions. Paige watched at a distance, a surge of emotion coursing through her as she thought of all they had lost. They were so young, betrayed by the one person who should have protected them and loved them. In the short time that she had been in the manor, Paige had come to care for the Waverley family, even moody Thomas had managed to grudgingly make his way into her heart. She knew what would come next; in a way she had always known. But now when she was facing the idea of saying goodbye, she felt her heart breaking.

After several moments, the Waverleys parted, looking to Eleanor for guidance just as they had for the last century.

“What happens now?” Thomas asked.

“Is it time for us to…go?” Clarissa said, fumbling over her words.

“Yes, darlings. It’s time for us to finally leave this place.”

Simon looked back to Paige, a look of confusion on his face. After a moment of hesitation, he ran towards her at full speed, wrapping his arms around her waist in a fierce hug. Paige could not help but smile as she returned the embrace. She ruffled his hair playfully.

“I’m gonna miss you.” He said, sniffling slightly.

“I’ll miss you too, Simon.” Paige responded, kissing the top of his head affectionately. “Try to stop scaring people, okay?”

He nodded slightly, stepping away as he crudely wiped his nose on his shirt.

Clarissa immediately stepped up to take his place, tears streaming down her face as she hugged Paige. “You know, I’ve never had a best friend before.”

Paige swallowed a lump in her throat. “Neither have I. I’m glad that changed.”

Clarissa pulled away, smiling through her tears. “Goodbye, Paige. Thank you for everything.”

Thomas approached, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“I know I wasn’t very nice to you. I suppose I should apologize for that.”

Paige smiled. “I’ll miss you too, Thomas.”

He gave a brief smile, nodding politely before returning to his signature broody expression.

The younger Waverley children gathered around Eleanor, hugging her tightly.

“It’s all right,” she said quietly. “Just close your eyes, and let yourself fall away.”

Paige wiped a tear from her cheek as a bright light suddenly filled the room, engulfing the Waverleys. The light became steadily brighter until Paige was forced to close her eyes against the intensity. When the light finally faded, only Eleanor remained. She clasped a hand to her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Paige gently wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly as Eleanor sobbed into her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Paige said quietly.

“Why did it have to be this way,” Eleanor said sadly. “We had our whole lives ahead of us. And now, after I finally meet you, I-” her voice trailed off.

Paige’s eyes filled with tears as she felt the weight of Eleanor’s words. She pulled her close, kissing her gently. After several moments, Eleanor pulled away, looking sadly into Paige’s eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you too” Paige said, placing one last lingering kiss on Eleanor’s lips.

The same bright light began to fill the room. Eleanor clung tightly to Paige, burying her face into her neck. Paige held her tightly against her, desperate to commit her feeling to memory. Soon the light engulfed the whole room, forcing Paige to close her eyes against the intensity.

“Goodbye, Paige.”


End file.
